Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Verity:

Even in my own head, the words sounded so fucking cringeworthy that I couldn’t blame Ragnar for narrowing his eyes at me with an expression of utter disbelief.

”I wasn’t flirting with her, Verity,” he muttered. ”And listen, I hate this childish behavior.”

He pointed a finger at me as he spoke.

”Oh, really? Then you must absolutely hate that little child hiding inside Brenda, the one who just can’t help coming out whenever she wants to share her happiness with others!”

I mimicked Alfred’s voice before bending down to retrieve the scattered documents, gathering them into a messy pile and clutching them against my chest while continuing to mutter under my breath.

Ragnar remained where he was, watching me in silence.

He didn’t utter a single word as I collected the last of the papers and stormed toward my room through the back entrance, slamming the door shut with my foot.

Once inside, I tossed the entire stack onto the bed before throwing myself down beside it.

”Verity, you’re such an idiot,” I groaned to myself, finally realizing just how unnecessary that entire outburst had been.

Why the fuck did I care whether Ragnar was flirting with Brenda?

If anything, I should have been collecting evidence of his behavior and showing it to Gigi so she would have a reason to postpone their engagement.

Although, knowing her, I doubted even that would make much difference.

She was determined to marry him by hook or by crook, and I wasn’t entirely sure anything I showed her would change her mind.

In fact, I should have let Ragnar flirt with Brenda. Who knew? Maybe they’d end up falling for each other, and Ragnar would finally leave Gigi.

Wouldn’t that rejection be satisfying?

But then again, that would mean Ragnar could fall in love with just about anyone.

And why the heck would that bother me?

I honestly had no idea.

I ended up falling asleep while dwelling on all these thoughts, which was something I really shouldn’t have done, considering I was supposed to join the walk along the shore before sunset to see that mysterious tower everyone had been talking about.

But now that I’d slept through it, I’d missed the entire trip.

Still, somewhere in the back of my mind, I’d been certain Ragnar would knock on my door and wake me up.

Well, did he?

Nope.

He fucking did not.

I woke up on my own to the sound of music playing outside. Groaning, I rubbed my face with both hands before dragging myself into the living room.

It was empty.

Summoning what little courage I had, I approached the door connecting the shared living room to Ragnar’s bedroom and knocked.

I needed to apologize to him, and I’d already decided to blame my earlier outburst on my hormones, my emotions, or whatever excuse I could come up with.

But he didn’t answer.

Eventually, I gave up and stepped onto the outdoor deck of my hut.

A beautiful railing surrounded it, made of wood that closely resembled bamboo, with fairy lights wrapped around it in little loops.

The moment I stepped outside, a refreshing sea breeze brushed against my face.

Music filled the air, and the entire place was illuminated with lights.

People were dancing around a bonfire, and I could tell the celebration had been arranged in honor of the Alpha King’s visit.

But where was he?

Was he sleeping too?

No, no, no.

He most certainly wasn’t.

Because guess what I spotted in the distance?

Ragnar and Brenda, strolling barefoot along the shoreline with the waves washing close to their feet.

Ragnar was wearing black pants and a black shirt that fluttered wildly in the wind.

Most of his buttons were undone, leaving his chest exposed enough for me to make it out even from this distance.

I wondered how much of it Brenda could see.

Well, Brenda wasn’t exactly leaving much to the imagination herself.

She wore a gray silk beach dress with a plunging, ruffled neckline that billowed in the breeze.

Beneath it was a sparkling white bra, deliberately visible through the design of the dress, which was clearly meant to show off the undergarment.

My hands slowly curled into fists.

So Ragnar had actually taken her out to see the mysterious island.

And he hadn’t even thought to wake me up.

Not even once.

I started hurrying down the stairs. I was wearing high heels, which, I knew, was a stupid choice for walking on the beach, but that only truly hit me when I stepped onto the sand and my heel nearly sank into it.

So I lifted my feet carefully and started making my way toward Ragnar.

Inside my head, a voice kept screaming at me, ’Stop it, Verity, stop it.’ But I couldn’t stop myself.

I kept convincing myself that I shouldn’t have let Ragnar slip out of my hands. He was my target.

Yes, that was it.

That was why I was angry.

The moment Ragnar saw me approaching, he slowed down, gestured to Brenda as if excusing himself, and then started walking toward me.

”You finally woke up? I thought you’d come out to see the view, the sunset, and get a glimpse of the island,” Ragnar said as he approached me.

The wind was blowing strands of hair loose from his bun, sending them across his face.

His eyes kept catching the light from the fire and lanterns, making them gleam. He stood there in a casual way.

”You didn’t wake me up?” I asked.

He frowned at me, then glanced over his shoulder to see whether Brenda was nearby.

She had wandered off to join the people dancing around the fire.

Wow. What a bubbly personality.

I knew Ragnar didn’t usually like girls like that. He was very particular about his likes and dislikes.

So why the fuck was he giving her so much attention now when he’d barely entertained her during half of the meeting?

”I didn’t know it was my responsibility to wake my secretary so she could come outside and admire the view,” he said coldly, and at that point, I guess I began to lose my mind.